Cosmic crafty greetings to you We hope this newsletter finds you well, feeling relaxing and all stitched out after Worldwide Knit in Public Day and ready to blast of to infinknitty and beyond with our upcoming Stitched Science extravaganza.

Deadline Day! Today is the last day for your Stitched Specimens to arrive! EEK! Have you sent yours in with all the correct info?

HUGE woolly hugs to everyone who attended our Stitch Crawl last weekend. We raised a neat £300 for Evelina Children's Hospital London and covered a lonely tree outside the Serpentine Gallery in a flurry of floating flutterguys.

Stitch London learners: We offer learner knitter sessions at the first meeting of each month. Look out for the learner icon (left) to see dates for learner meetings. Places may be limited so please arrive early to sign up.

So what's going on? Stitch London and the Science Museum are teaming up to create an event that combines science and stitching to make weekend of cosmic craft.

What can I see there? We'll be revealing the world's largest Stitched Solar System, showcasing Stitched Science Specimens sent in from all over the world (from a giant knitted plug, to a wrestling ring full of woolly bacteria to a hand-embroidered Eukaryotic Cell (like the one on the right fromChristine Surridge)), and parading 255 Stitched Self Portraits from across the globe.

What can I do there? There are tons of workshops you can take part in throughout the weekend.

Stitched Solar System

Stitch London will be running workshops and drop-in areas where you can help finish of the Stitched Solar System:

Knitting Jenny Jupiter - drop in to this area to create knitted cord to add to our giant Jupiter.

Mars Martians - learn how to knit a simple square and turn it into a kooky Martian for our planet Mars.

Pom Pom Planet Rings - drop in to make a pom pom and add it to the ice rings of planet Saturn.

Other workshops

Cross Stitch Emoticons with Mr X Stitch

Geometric Knitted Shapes and Illusion Knitting with Woolly Thoughts

Knit a Neuron and learn about your woolly grey matter with Knit a Neuron

Make a Science Museum techonological triumph with The Materialistics

Space Alien Craft with The Make Lounge

Has my Stitched Specimen arrived? We've had loads of Stitched Specimens which will be on show on Stitch London's Stitch Up in the run up to the event, along with images you've sent in. We can't let everyone know they've arrived individually but they'll all be online at some point and there'll be loads of pics from the day so look out for yours! Please make sure you've sent in the correct info. If you have some info to add email it to info@stitchLDN.com

What if I can't make it? If you can't make it to the Museum you can catch up on Stitched Science goings on by following Stitch London on Twitter, 'liking' us on Facebook or keeping an eye on Stitch London's Stitch Up for photos as the event happens.

How on earth are you managing to make a Stitched Solar System? We've had a brilliant team of Solar System Stitchers working on making the knitted parts of our little piece of galaxy. The rest has been created by the Stitch London team. All will be revealed after the big event. So watch this space for How to Make a Stitched Solar System and the names of all the (rather exhausted) stitchers...

THANKS! Huge thanks to the folks at and for kindly providing materials to help make our Solar System and for some of the workshop materials.

Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarn! Me hearties! The notorious Captain Cat-Battler is a veteran of cat vs mouse conflict. Since the dawn of time, rodents and their feline foe have pitted their wits against one another. Captain Cat-Battler is a handmade hero of mousekind, keeping the cats of the world on their furry toes with his cunning and his defiant squeak.

Captain Cat-Battler was designed by Whodunnknit specially for Battersea Dogs & Cats Home and their new Cat Knit project. The Battersea Home is one of Stitch London's favourite charities as our four-legged friends are good craft companions (though they do chew yarn at times).

The idea is simple:

“Battersea’s cattery is preparing to be inundated with cats and kittens this summer, the charity is calling upon knitters and crafters across the UK to make knitted catnip mice to help keep Battersea’s whiskered residents entertained while they wait for new homes.”

The pattern is free but if you do use it, please donate to the Home; send a mouse to befriend lonely cats waiting for new owners; or even better, adopt a cat to go with your mouse. And remember to spread the word about the good work the Home is doing for our four-legged friends.

Check out Ravelry for Captains being stitched up already. There are some fabulous feline photos.

EXCLUSIVE MINI OFFER: Smooshy Alpaca Yarn from the Moors

Iggy and Alfie the alpacas live in Dartmoor in deepest Devon and they have a problem. They're getting rather woolly and the time has come to free themselves from their fleece before the summer sunshine cooks them in their wool.

Fancy getting your paws on some of their lovely smooshy wool to spin or felt into something fab?

Here's the deal:
4 bags(approx. 2kg each)full of unwashed shearings of two alpacas (Iggie is ginger coloured and Alfie is white):1 large bag best saddle wool in ginger: £20 plus postage
1 large bag best saddle wool in white: £20 plus postage
1 large bag of the remainder of the wool (good for felting) in ginger: £10 plus postage
1 large bag of the remainder in white: £10 plus postage

They're being sheared this very day so it's about as fresh as fleece can get. Yay!

(You may recognise one of the alpaca owners too. He writes rather good books about a London which is a bit more steampunk than stitchy. Stitch London'd love to knit in a London on wheels. Maybe one day...)

Ask Gertrude:I've lost my knitting mojo, baby!

Dear GertyI’ve lost my knitting mojo. Last year I would knit for hours every evening, but now I rarely raise my needles for more than a few minutes every couple of weeks, if I’m lucky. And it’s always the same pattern – Baby Surprise has lost its surprise for me. Good grief, it’s so boring . . . I’ve got into a rut and I don’t know how to get out. Help me Gerty, save my stitch life. You’re my only hope.Ever yoursFrustrated of Fulham

Dear FoFI’m so sorry to hear of your troubles, but you know great knitting doesn’t just happen – it takes patience, understanding and a modicum of effort on your part. It’s no wonder you’ve fallen out of love with your wool if you’ve fallen into a humdrum routine of baby jackets. You need to shake things up a bit and inject some sparkle into your craft (no, not glitter-glue, my dear, we’ll leave that for the scrap-bookers).Here are your Aunty Gerty’s top tips for reinvigorated knitting:-

The early knitter catches the woolly wormTry knitting at different times of day - if you usually knit in the evening, try a few quick rows before you leave for work – knitting against the clock can be most thrilling!

Bring it on!Pick a challenging new pattern and learn some new techniques – there are infinite possibilities and a multitude of helpful websites with step-by-step instructions if you are unsure.

Ooo shiny!Treat yourself to some new toys – maybe a novelty stitch-counter or some pretty new needles that will make your knitting feel that bit more glamorous.

Get your knits outNow that the nights are shorter and the days are warmer, consider some knitting in public. There’s no feeling like the summer breeze gently fluffing your fibres. If you are shy you can wear a wig and dark glasses. I understand that group and public knitting isn’t for everyone, but unless you’ve tried it, how will you know? No-one will judge you for it.

Be honest with your knitting – if you really didn’t care for it you would have binned your needles ages ago. Tell it you much you love it, how you’ve missed it, and how you want to make things better. When you have rebuilt that bridge of trust I’m sure you and your needles will soon click again!I’m off for a nice long glass of Pimms and lighter fuel (strictly not recommended for anyone who isn’t 100% acrylic) – I hope your rut disappears as quickly as my drink.Much renewed loveGerty

Stitch London promise not to share your email address with anyone, not even if they ask us nicely and offer us sweet, sweet cake or cashmere.Stitch London is run by one frazzled founder and a host of volunteers so please be patient if we make mistakes.